The fact that I’ve given copies of this book to two people already should indicate that I enjoyed this book. My favorite books are those that expand my mind and make me think of something I’d never before considered. This book did that many times.
Hugh Nibley’s semester two on the Book of Mormon
Speaking of “books” (this is more a lecture) that expand my mind, that is the perfect description of all things Hugh Nibley for me. Semester one was #7 in 2023’s list. I love getting a look into Hugh Nibley’s mind. If I could have dinner with one historical figure, Hugh Nibley might make my top 10 list.
I read this alongside the next book on this list. It was a rare time that I was reading two fictional books concurrently. As I thought back on reading this alongside The City, I realized there were ebbs and flows where I liked one above the other. The tie-breaker? J.K. Rowling (the greatest author of our generation, duh).
Reading one Dean Koontz book a year is the perfect amount. If you read too many they all start to blur together. This was a fantastic book with a surprisingly powerful message. Very much enjoyed it.
This book was recommended by a friend. It was the story of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, a truly life threatening choice. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One of my favorite topics is how people find faith in one way or another. This was an interesting story about this man’s journey through a shift in rethinking everything he thought he knew about the world.
This book was recommended by Beth. It includes true stories of people experiencing what has been called “The Third Man.” Beth thought I would enjoy it because of my love of all things spiritual and especially near-death experiences. She was right. I believe there is something real and misunderstood about this “third man” concept. Great read.
Another very short book. I took a lot from this book and quite enjoyed it. All about the power of positive thinking and making the most of your talents. Intriguing coming from one of the most successful poker players ever.
Hugh Nibley’s semester three on the Book of Mormon
At this point in the “class” Hugh started to repeat a lot of themes and information, so I felt like I’d read some of it before and the new insights started to come much less often. It was still informative and I still loved reading his words.
There is a somewhat random process to my selection of books and the fact that this one came up right after the first book on this list was interesting to me. This was basically a short collection of quotes from church leaders about evolution.
This was the second straight year I started the year with a huge church history book (#13 from 2023). This one was longer but less dry than the previous year’s. This one was a little more palatable and easier to read.
It’s so hard to rate these books. How do you put Hell House amidst Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, and Revelations of the Restoration? It felt strange putting it above those. It also felt strange putting it behind because this book was an extreme page turner. I had an incredibly hard time putting it down. I think I read it in a few days. It was perfectly spooky and scary without being too obscene. I really liked this book. First scary book I’ve read in a while and I’m glad I did.
I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I’d heard so much about it so probably more an issue with expectations. Derek Sivers’s story was really interesting to me. He sold his company CD baby for a large amount of money. But the book wasn’t super memorable.
A book can’t be rated too highly if I wasn’t too disappointed to be done with it. See #17 2022, #16 2022, #15 2023, and #17 2023 for more information on the series. That said, now that I’m done with these “Lost Tales” books, I do look forward to re-reading Lord of the Rings to see what more I pick up on, one day.
Edgar Allen Poe joins the ranks of The Outsiders (#13 2021) and Catcher in the Rye (#30 2021) – classics that I just don’t get. These short stories from Edgar Allen Poe were perplexing. Most of the time I didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe I’m not sophisticated enough.
My books read have an inverse correlation to how many children I have. 58 in 2020, 45 in 2021, 26 in 2022, 21 in 2023, and in 2024 I’m on pace to finish 15. I miss reading 50 books in a year, but I have the best distractions.
This is the third year I’ve made a list of all the books I read. Click to see lists for 2021 and 2022.
2023’s book list comes with even more of a disclaimer than usual. You may have noticed I’m posting 2023’s list at the end of 2024. It’s been at least a year since I’ve read most of these books. This made it difficult to remember the finer details of the individual books. Add the fact that I packed all these books away so I can’t review my highlights, and I struggled a bit remembering each individual book.
Still, it might mean the list even better represents what books I liked because the list will partially indicate the most memorable books from last year.
So, here is the order of my most enjoyable reads from 2023.
The fifth book in the Dune series, I must show respect for what Frank Herbert created in the Dune universe by ranking this book this high. I love this series. I loved this book. I love his universe. I love his writing. Best series I’ve read since Harry Potter, hands down.
I loved this book, the second book in the Strike detective novel series. JK Rowling is the greatest author of our generation. This list doesn’t even have a Harry Potter book on it and yet Harry Potter was mentioned in the top two books. Anyways…
This book has a special place in my heart as it was written by my grandpa. Re-reading the synopsis of the book gave me chills because it really was a great story. I loved this book.
This was a phenomenal book. I just read the Wikipedia page on it and learned some of the story might have been embellished. Well, yeah, welcome to story-telling. It’s an extraordinary tale of a man who tried to get into Auschwitz and eventually survived being an Allied prisoner of the Second World War.
This book was great, really made me think about how our situations and often some luck impact our potential growth and abilities. Must read for someone wanting to understand the outliers or overperformers in our society.
Hugh Nibley’s semester one on the Book of Mormon
This is a transcription of all lectures from a Book of Mormon class Hugh Nibley taught from 1988-1990 at BYU. Don’t ask me how I found it, but I did, and I immediately downloaded and saved all of them. These are insightful, his understanding of history is off the charts, so many extraordinary insights that grew my testimony in the Book of Mormon and God’s hand in the history of all things. If you want a copy, let me know and I’ll send it to you. Invaluable.
Book three of the Strike detective series. This book is ranked a little lower than Silkworm because it dragged a little more with a lot more developing characters and drawn-out suspicion. The end was well-worth the wait though.
This is a collection of stories about children visiting their families before they were born. Legend has it my dad dreamt of all of us before we came. He knew all our genders. So this one hits close to home.
This book was about how our minds work and about our fast or slow reactions or decisions. It explores thinking and ways to improve our decision-making.
I actually started this book once years ago and never finished it. That was back when I sometimes didn’t finish books. I enjoyed it this time. This is the story of a young boy born in captivity. Fascinating thought experiment about life, freedom, and experience. Also became a movie.
Malachi is a lesser-known prophet which means there is less content for the author to provide but also more I didn’t know about Malachi to be learned. I enjoyed this book. Other books I’ve read in the series included Moses (#24 from 2021) and Joshua (#22 from 2022).
By book three it felt like I was reading the same legends over again, with extra commentary about where words came from that didn’t super interest me. I still love reading Tolkien’s tales but didn’t love these as much.
Gordon B. Hinckley had a way of speaking and it comes out in this book. It was full of witty and funny stories amidst spiritual guidance and advice from a prophet of God.
“The Way.” This book was like reading Proverbs from the Bible: insightful but dry. Most interesting thought I got from this book was to make me consider the strength of babies.
*I’m following an extremely short post with an extremely long one. I don’t expect most people (or anyone) to read all my notes and information at the end, but I’m still posting it to illustrate how seriously I’ve looked into this. Don’t ever doubt if I take this seriously.
**I was asked to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon with high school students. This is what I wrote.
I recently read in a Doctrine and Covenants commentary a quote from George Q. Cannon, relating a time that Parley P. Pratt preached to the early saints of the restoration. George Q Cannon stated:
“[Parley P. Pratt] brought forth from the prophesies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets, abundant proofs concerning the work which the Lord had established through His servant Joseph. A great many of the Latter-day Saints were surprised that there were so many evidences existing in the Bible concerning this work. The Church had then been organized some five months, but the members had never heard from the Elders these proofs and evidences which existed in the Bible.”
That commentary added:
“Studying the Scriptures without the guidance of the Spirit does not reveal their true meaning to us. But if we have the Spirit, we shall not fall into error, even if we are not great Bible scholars.”
I have good and bad news for you young people. At this point in your life you’ve heard it said countless times that you’re a choice generation. You are! I state it unequivocally and with as much force as I can muster. YOU ARE A CHOICE GENERATION. Sent here by your Heavenly Father for THIS MOMENT. Look around you. How many are in this room? How many compared to the countless young people you associate with at school? You are God’s choicest soldiers. His chosen. Never doubt it.
With this honor comes a great responsibility. You can no longer plead ignorance as the saints of 1830, not knowing the truth that exists out there. You have all the information of the world literally at your fingertips. If you use your mobile phones and the internet to play Candy Crush and scroll through Instagram, you waste a great power. One day you will stand before God and you will report. At that time you can say, “I didn’t know.” And He will reply, “You didn’t look. I put you on that earth with a responsibility and all the power of information to find everything you could seek. You didn’t look.”
It is out there for you to find the “proof” you need to know the Book of Mormon is true. There are countless resources: books, the internet, commentaries, podcasts. These things can be used to confirm in your mind and soul, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Book of Mormon is true, that this is Christ’s Church, that this is His work. You must find it. You cannot plead ignorance. You have been chosen for an extraordinarily significant purpose. Don’t ever doubt it. If you ever wonder why you’re here or what you’re meant to do, I don’t know. But God does. And I assure you, because you’re in this room right now, at early morning seminary, studying the word of God, that you’re on this earth for something powerful, significant, and important. NEVER FORGET IT.
Now, finding the proof in the Book of Mormon is not easy. It’s not something you discover casually. I’ve studied the Book of Mormon alongside commentaries every single day since I came back to church 8 and a half years ago. I know I’m just scratching the surface of all the proof that exists out there that the Book of Mormon is true. Find a reason to study the Book of Mormon that excites you and it will make your study so much easier and rewarding. For me, this passion project of finding “proofs” of the Book of Mormon started with a friend who could not accept that the Book of Mormon is true because of a lack of evidence. I believe I’ve found sufficient “proof” that the Book of Mormon is true. But you need to find that for yourself.
I’ll provide a list of reading materials, talks, podcasts, and people to get you started. Just know, my list isn’t close to all that is out there to prove to you that the Book of Mormon is true. I hope the list I provide overwhelms you. It should! The evidence that the Book of Mormon is true is out there, it is irrefutable, it is overwhelming. You just have to see it.
I say this next part not to brag but to show an example. It is possible to use the power at your fingertips for good. You don’t need to spend so much (or any) time on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
My sister sent this to me the other day:
I replied with this:
I replied that I only use my phone at this point to reply to texts, take notes, and study the scriptures. This brings me joy. I hope it can bring the same to you.
Now I must apologize to you. You can no longer walk blindly and ignorantly through the world wondering if the Book of Mormon is true. You have the tools, you know how to use them. It is up to you now to find your own proof and confirm your testimony so that when someone asks you if the Book of Mormon is true, you can reply without hesitation that you know it is.
I leave this, my testimony of the Book of Mormon, with you, in the name of Jesus Christ.
This list is from LeGrand Richards’s book Just to Illustrate.
The Bible is the Lord’s Blueprint. Any church that is God’s church should fit God’s blueprint. The below is a list of biblical scriptures that fit “God’s Church Blueprint”. Other churches have no explanation or guesses about the meaning of these scriptures. We know.
John 10:16 (other sheep I have)
1 Corinthians 15:29 (baptism for the dead)
1 Peter 3:18-20 (Christ preaches to spirits in prison)
Revelations 4:1 and 14:6-7 (angel with Gospel preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people)
Acts 3:19-21 (Christ to come after the restitution of all things)
Daniel 2:27-28, 34-35, 44 (is there a church that claims it is God’s kingdom on the earth?)
Malachi 3:1 (messenger sent to prepare the way for Christ’s second coming)
Amos 3:7 (God reveals nothing except to His prophets)
Malachi 4:5-6 (Send Elijah lest the earth be smitten with a curse)
Isaiah 2:2-3 (In the last days, Lord’s house in the tops of the mountains)
Luke 24:25 (are we slow of heart to believe what the prophets have spoken?)
Ezekiel 37:15-20 (Stick of Joseph, verse 18 wilt thou tell us what the Bible means? Answer – verse 19)
My own Added:
Matthew 12:25 (House divided amongst itself)
Ezekiel 37:21-22 (where else is this gathering taking place but the Church of Jesus Christ?)
Isaiah 24:5 (changed ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant, what is the everlasting covenant?)
Why are these promises in the Bible if they are not a part of God’s blueprint and if He does not intend for them to be fulfilled?
The Bible is the Lord’s blueprint, and it will fit no other church in the world.
Proofs of the Book of Mormon:
The below lists coincide with this link (When I wrote this in 2022 this first list was 139 items long, in the past two years it has grown to the current 306 and is still growing) –
Nephi 10:7 first note, Zacharias murder, supportive texts discovered after Joseph Smith’s death.
Nephi 10:10 Lamb of God, writings of Joseph of Egypt that Lehi took from Jerusalem
Nephi 10:18 chiasmus
Nephi 11:6-7 Son of God
Nephi 12:4 thunderings: Book of rolls
Nephi 12:20-21 population
Nephi 13:26-28 all about truths removed from bible.
Nephi 15:28
Nephi 16:10 curious – Semitic
Nephi 16:13 hebraism
Nephi 16:20 murmur exceedingly
Nephi 16:21 hebraism
Nephi 16:23 bow and sling. How would joseph smith know those details?
Nephi 17:1 Joseph ridiculed for 100 years about this route
Nephi 17:5 Nephi’s Journey (Aston theory)
Nephi 17:5 Irreantum-Egyptian, how could joseph smith know that word?
Nephi 18:9 lack of adverbs
Nephi 18:13 geography
Nephi 18:23 promised land
Nephi 18:25 words for corn/wheat
Nephi 20/21 Isaiah translation
Nephi 20/21 Isaiah – chiasmus- Bible deletions
Nephi 20/21 Isaiah – authenticity
Nephi 20/21 use of Isaiah in joseph smith’s day
Nephi 21:1 portion added to Isaiah by “Joseph Smith” is perfect chiasmus
Nephi 22:31 Egyptian closing
2 Nephi 2:4 perfect doctrine of the fall
2 Nephi 2:15 inverted quotations
2 Nephi 2:17 Satan
2 Nephi chapter 3 heading – chiasmus
2 Nephi 3:12 sticks of Judah and joseph
2 Nephi 3:12 fruit of thy loins
2 Nephi 3:14 PROPHESIES OF A FUTURE JOSEPH
2 Nephi 3:15 Messiah ben Joseph
2 Nephi 3:15 meaning of Hyrum
2 Nephi 3:15 pretty much every note for that verse (9 notes)
2 Nephi 3:17 historicity of spokesman for Moses in Genesis and BoM and Jewish tradition
2 Nephi 4:10 and it came to pass
2 Nephi 4:11 cultural inheritance consistent with bible and ancient israel
2 Nephi 4:16 Nephi’s psalm, chiasmus, Hebrew literature
2 Nephi 5:15 and conjunctions Hebraisms
2 Nephi 5:16 why are there temples in America after same pattern to Jerusalem?
2 Nephi 6:4 linguistics
2 Nephi 8:15 variations of Isaiah translation
2 Nephi 8:20 Ephraim and Manasseh importance explained
2 Nephi 9:2 doctrines taught in chapter 9
2 Nephi 9:7 “atonement” New Testament vs Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 9:40 unique use of word by author (Jacob)
2 Nephi 12 (heading) Isaiah plagiarized? Modern language
2 Nephi 12:2 missing phrase and upon all the ships of the sea
2 Nephi 12:20 HE hath made
2 Nephi 13:12 and my people (translation correction)
2 Nephi 13:14 And (translation correction – send to Zach)
2 Nephi 12:16 footnote for “sea”
2 Nephi 15:5 I will – Septuagint
2 Nephi 20:29 Ramath, more ancient spelling
2 Nephi 23:3 mistranslation of Isaiah in kjv
Page 60 and 61 of “temple worship” book- parallels of current temple rituals and ancient rituals that Joseph Smith knew nothing about.
2 Nephi 24:4 Isaiah not found in KJV but in codex Alexandrinus
2 Nephi 25:19 name of Jesus and Mary used in ancient records
2 Nephi 27:1-5 chiasmus (note on verse 1)
2 Nephi 27-2 Book of Mormon consistent with Syriac texts
2 Nephi 27:15 the Anthon transcript
2 Nephi 27:32 BoM consistent with Syriac and Septuagint
2 Nephi 28:10 note – blood types in americas
2 Nephi 29:3 note -“teachings of joseph smith” on the Bible and why we need BoM
2 Nephi 29:3 adding to the Bible
2 Nephi 29:6 incompleteness of the Bible
2 Nephi 29:12 Hebrew poetic device
2 Nephi 29:13 books of scripture
2 Nephi 33:9 Polysyndeton- repetitive use of and (no punctuation in Hebrew)
Jacob 2:2 different voices of BoM
Jacob 4:1 engraving on metal plates
Jacob 5:1 olive tree allegory proof of BoM note
Jacob 5 section heading: note “Horticulure – Joseph Smith knowledge of and proof of BoM”
Jacob 5:3 Joseph Smith use of the word vineyard
Jacob 5:16 Hebrew syntax
Jacob 7:20 Hebrew idiom
Jacob 7:27 all three notes on adieu
Enos 1 and and and vav-consecutive
Enos 14 intricacies and subtleties in reference to Jacob and Esau
Jarom 1:7 fortifications
Jarom 1:8 preposition repeated hebraism
Omni 1:1 different writing styles
Omni 1:8 Hebrew name
Omni 1:12 Mosiah
Omni 1:15 how did Joseph Smith come up with Mulek (note on this verse)
Pretty much all of notes in Omni chapter.
Omni 1:18 note about the potential royal and priestly lineage of Mulek, son of King Zedekiah.
Words of Mormon heading
Words of Mormon 1:5 why Isaiah in the BoM
Words of Mormon 1:17 stiffneckedness
Mosiah 1:1 absence of colophons (different voices for an abridged record vs first person account).
Mosiah 1:2 and it came to pass – Maya
Mosiah 1:2 He had…He called…He caused (third person account) note – new voices in translation / no errors.
Mosiah 2 chapter heading. Multiple notes on the chapter heading.
Mosiah 2:7 tower more correct translation (note from Matthew roper)
Mosiah 3:1-3 chiasmus (note on verse 1)
Mosiah 3:18-19 chiasm
Mosiah 4:16 parallels between jubilee celebration and king Benjamin’s Speech
Mosiah 5:10-12 first chiasmus found in BoM (this is a good note and proof of BoM)
Mosiah 5:11 God’s name spoken 7 and 3 times for a total of 10, just like ancient Israel.
Mosiah 7:9 scribe for King Limhi
Mosiah 7:17 8 features of covenant tradition
Mosiah 7:21 language structure
Mosiah 7:26 minor proof of the BoM. Good point about how difficult to keep things straight.
Mosiah 10:20 slew slaughter Hebraic phrase
Mosiah 11:25 tradition of fasting while covered in ash
Mosiah 12:1 prophesies fulfilled, keeping track
Mosiah 12:3 Dead Sea scrolls, Hugh Nibley, need to look at this one closer.
Mosiah 15:7 crucified
Mosiah 15:7 cross in Americas
Mosiah 15:20-23 chiasmus
Mosiah 17:2 Alma
Mosiah 20:19 Semitic device
Mosiah 21:2 how did Joseph Smith incorporate those voices seamlessly?
Mosiah 23:31 Hebrew poetry word pairs
Mosiah 25:2 Ezekiel prophesy fulfilled
Mosiah 26:39 Semitic language
Mosiah 29:7 plot, keeping track of everything, see also 28:9
Alma 1:1 Hebraism
Alma 1:2 Arabic idiom judgement-seat
Alma 1:29 Hebrew writing form polysyndeton
Alma 1:29 flocks and herds consistent with Old Testament
Alma 2:1 another Hebrew literary device hal-clause
Alma 2:15 river Sidon – how did joseph know the name Sidon?
Alma 2:20 tents
Alma 2:22 meaning of names
Alma 2:37 hermounts – what a coincidence! This is a good one.
Alma 3:1 Epanalepsis, writing styles of BoM authors
Alma 3:13 mark of red, another Hebraism
Alma 3:26 Semitic repeating of number
Alma 5 superscription. Pretty amazing joseph smith kept this all straight.
Alma 5:7 behold
Alma 5:9 soul expands – works better in Hebrew than English
Alma 5:9 song of redeeming love, old world temple rite
Alma 11:15 barley
Alma 36:9 Semitic language
Alma 5:19 more inverted quotations (Seidel’s law, see 2 Nephi 2:15)
Alma 5:26 amazing joseph smith kept these voices and phrases from time periods straight.
Alma 5:28 Semitic idiom
Alma 5:37 Semitic expressions
Alma 5:40 antithetical parallelism
Alma 7:10 land of Jerusalem
Alma 7:11 pains and sickness more accurate translation
Alma 8:6 how did Joseph Smith know maya place names ended in “ha”/“hah”?
Alma 8:7 bountiful and desolation connection to Hebrew
Alma 8:7 custom in mesoamerica to name after kings who first settled
Alma 8:13 additional “and” additional proof of BoM authenticity
Alma 8:18 it came to pass (same as 2 Nephi 4:10)
Alma 9:19 having…having…
Alma 11:15 barley
Alma 10:11 women wives Hebraism
Alma 10:20 singular for plural
Alma 11:4 perfect monetary system
Alma 11:5 monetary system with ties to ancient civilizations
Alma 11:13 how did joseph smith know onti was a unit of value in Egyptian?
Alma 11:15 how did joseph smith know that Egypt measured in barley before the world knew?
Alma 11:16 Hebrew word
Alma 11:43 limb and joint
Alma 12:11 different voices
Alma 13:9 chiasm
Alma 13:25 “would to God” how did Joseph Smith know that meant it wouldn’t happen?
Alma 14:8 fire Epistrophe
Alma 15:17 altar – deliverance
Alma 16:5 Aha – warrior in Egyptian
Alma 17:14 precious stones
Alma 18:9 horses (multiple notes)
Alma 18:9 wheels (multiple notes)
Alma 18:13 Rabbanah Aramaic, melek Hebrew, good thing joseph smith knew that.
Alma 18:18 Hebrew idiom
Alma 22:31 Desolation and Bountiful
Alma 23:1 epanalepsis Hebrew writing device
Alma 23:7 double negative Hebrew authorship
Alma 25:1 prisoners of war needed to establish a new king – consistent with maya rituals
Alma 27:15 compound subject proper Hebrew
Alma 27:22 Jershon = Semitic to inherit
Alma 29:9 authorship
Alma 30:51 Put Forth His Hand – different phrases by different authors
Alma 31:7 Helaman Egyptian name
Alma 31:7 Shiblon and Corianton Hebrew and Arabic
Alma 31:21 rameamptom Semitic
Alma 32:8 Semitic idiom
All of Alma chapter 32 on faith. An unlearned farm kid wrote this?
Alma 33:13 writings of Zenos discovered in 1906
Alma 34:8 voice of Alma
Alma 34:10 A great and last sacrifice, voice of Amulek
Alma 35:13 Joseph Smith returning to things previously mentioned during dictation
Alma 35:16 Passover father talk to sons Old Testament tradition
Alma chapter 36 odds of chiasmus being random
Alma 36:9 Semitic language
Alma 36:22 exact quote of Lehi
Alma 37:5 Proof of brass/bronze existing from 6th century BC
Alma 37:23 Gazalem and Liahona Egyptian and Hebrew meanings
Alma 37:23 Onyx or chocolate colored seer stone tribe of Joseph in ancient Israel
Alma 37:37 ancient Hebrew poetic form, known as merismus
Alma 37:37 Liahona – very good Hebrew
Alma 39:3 Isabel – Lack of Baal names – Jaredite
Alma 39:9 cross yourself – John Gee, awkward English
Alma 41:13-15 Hebrew parallelistic writing
Alma 43:21 armor terms in BoM differ from those used in bible.
Alma 43:26 voice of Moroni, land in quarters
Alma 45:19 mistranslation of Bible about Moses translation, Joseph would have had to keep track of this in his Bible translation.
Alma 46:17 Dead Sea scrolls, land of desolation and land of bountiful before a war
Alma 46:29 Hebraisms
Alma 46:21 Hugh Nibley – Battle Scroll – proof of BoM
Alma 46:22 simile oath
Alma 46:24 coat of the Garden of Eden
Alma 46:40 no cold words in BoM
Alma 49:13 proof of fortifications
Alma 51:5 king men, historical correlation with what is happening in Book of Mormon
Alma 51:33 climate in new year
Alma 53:7 seasons of war. Such a tiny detail. But what you’d expect if this is a legitimate record. How amazing that joseph smith considered the seasonality of war in middle America when making up this book…
Alma 54:1 Egyptian
Alma 57:5 Joseph Smith did this timeline stuff off the top of his head?
Alma 63:5 Hagoth Mycenaean name
Helaman 1:3 Egyptian and Nephite judge names
Helaman 1:3 Paanchi- indisputably Egyptian
Helaman 1:9 Kishkumen and Akish tied together in way different parts of the book
All the notes in Helaman 3 (especially verses 4 and 5) about the evidence of vast civilizations in the americas.
Helaman 3:5 deforestation
Helaman 3:5 blood types
Helaman 3:7 cement – proof
Helaman 3:7 more on cement + all other notes about cement on this verse
Helaman 3:12 “sea south” changed to “ocean of the peaceful people” (bottom part of that note).
Helaman 3:14 “and” – Semitic language
Helaman 3:14 shipping and calendar
Helaman 3:15 undisputed now that Mesoamerican people kept written records.
Helaman 3:36 fifty and second year, Semitic numbering
Helaman 5:39 Semitic names
Helaman 6:8-9 free trade
Helaman 6:10 good chiasmus
Helaman 6:10 Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah – think about how long it took you to connect reading the scriptures that King Zedekiah of Jerusalem had all his sons killed – and you with all your commentaries and explanations and internet- then think of 24 year old joseph smith putting that together and applying it to a “fiction” he wrote implying that one of the sons got away and was established in the americas but that’s tied in just in a side part of his main “fiction”, a guy who didn’t even know Jerusalem had walls. Insane.
Helaman 6:22-26 good chiasm
Helaman 7:10 chief market, highway, gardens (5 notes in total).
Helaman 8:15 parallelism
Helaman 8:18 Semitic expression
Helaman 11:36 Anabasis staircase parallelism
Helaman 12:13 if and Hebraism
Helaman 13:11 anaphora Hebrew literary device
Helaman 13:33 quote from Enoch text
Helaman 14:25 how did Joseph Smith insert a “missed” prophesy INTO a chiasm?
Helaman 16:22 Hebrew preposition usage
3 Nephi 1:1 Mexican record mentions age of 600 years
3 Nephi 1:1 both notes about Lachoneus – ch to k and why a Greek name is in BoM
3 Nephi 1:8 Native American legends of the “dawn star”
3 Nephi 1:13 Olmec-Maya long count calendar correlates with Book of Mormon account
3 Nephi 2:8 birth of Christ same as birth of Quetzalcoatl
3 Nephi 3:9 Giddianhi Egyptian name
3 Nephi 9 jaredite records references to secret societies that would tie in later
3 Nephi 3:12 robbers vs thieves distinction
3 Nephi 3:22 horse bones archaeology
3 Nephi 4:4 7 years and ancient Israel custom
3 Nephi 4:7 polysyndeton, religion of and
3 Nephi 5:10 poetic structure and Mormon and Nephi having similar testimonies
3 Nephi 8:5 Quetzalcoatl same birthdate as Christ
3 Nephi 8:11 Great destruction in Mexican history correlates with Book of Mormon
3 Nephi 8:12 Volcano activity 34 A.D.
3 Nephi 8:23 Hebrew idioms
3 Nephi 9:3 great cities and Book of Mormon parallels to Mesoamerican cities
3 Nephi 9:8 volcanic lava covering cities from time of Christ
3 Nephi 9:10 another and, and, and Hebraism
3 Nephi 9:10 known ancient city of Lamonai buried
3 Nephi 11:14 Mesoamerica depictions of a god with marks in his hands
3 Nephi 11:14 Jesus Christ and Quetzalcoatl parallels
3 Nephi 11:14 Parallel names between Christ and god of Mesoamerica
3 Nephi 11:15 Ancient Aztec record, Quetzalcoatl with prints in hands and feet
3 Nephi 11:19-20 another polysyndeton
3 Nephi 11:21 Baptism in ancient Mesoamerica
3 Nephi 11:27 3 Gods in one parallel in Mesoamerica – remarkable
3 Nephi 12:1 Hebraism – conjunctions and parenthesis
3 Nephi 12:6 filled with the Holy Ghost correct
3 Nephi 12:10 persecuted for my name’s sake closer to Aramaic
3 Nephi 12:17 likely Paul criticism removed from Book of Mormon
3 Nephi 12:20 another example of perfectly adjusted text to adjust from an old world audience to a new world audience, how did JS do this off the top of his head?
3 Nephi 12:21 old world oral law new world written law, amazing thought by JS
3 Nephi 12:22 Book of Mormon matches earliest manuscripts (this is a good one).
3 Nephi 12:29 further case where sermon at temple seems more like what Christ would have said
3 Nephi 13:1 another more accurate translation than Bible almsgiving for poor
3 Nephi 15:16-17, 21 Joseph and Judah uniting, Jewish readings
3 Nephi 18:5 Christ/Quetzalcoatl ordained priests
3 Nephi 18:6-7 sacrament in the new world
3 Nephi 18:7 remembrance as a covenant
3 Nephi 19:4 names in the Book of Mormon don’t use vowels not found in Hebrew
3 Nephi 19:6 Mesoamerican temple dedicated to Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and 12 helpers
3 Nephi 19:25 more accounts from Mesoamerica that align with BoM record of a white God (Christ) visiting
3 Nephi 20:1 And = but Hebraism
3 Nephi 20:6-7 ancient records show Quetzalcoatl fed a multitude like BoM
3 Nephi 20:10 another chiasm
3 Nephi 20:10 Jesus’ covenant people discourse significance of chiasm
3 Nephi 24:1 Aztec belief in white god and letter from Cortez to Spain
3 Nephi 24:9 Hebraism
3 Nephi 26:5 joseph smith keeping straight quotes he’d have to make later
3 Nephi 27:14 specific example of pre Spanish cross
3 Nephi 27:20 baptism in Americas
3 Nephi 28:1 “that” Hebraism
3 Nephi 28:23 Aztec names with Hebrew roots
4 Nephi 1 evidence of religious change around 34 A.D.
4 Nephi 1:5 polysyndeton (repeated ands)
4 Nephi 1:6 annal-like recounting
4 Nephi 1:17 double negative hebraism
4 Nephi 1:24 pearls
4 Nephi 1:26 Teotihuacan pride cycle coincides with BoM timeline
Defense of Mormon theology:
2 Nephi 29:9 Polytheism, idolatry, and the patriarchs
Mosiah 4:6 note premortal life references in bible
Mosiah 4:6 note Ancient texts – Christ in premortality
(Godhead)- Mosiah 15:2 note about suzerain and vassal relationship. How Christ is the father and the son.
Mosiah 16:13 grace
Alma 1:4 faith and works
Matthew 21:30 faith and works
Proof of restoration:
2 Nephi 21:1 “Gentiles, Israel, and the olive tree allegory” note
2 Nephi 21:12 only church to prophesy of the Jews returning to Jerusalem
2 Nephi 26:4 defense against an example of accused “plagiarism”
Jacob 5:35 apostasy
Mosiah 4:3 baptism (this is a good note explaining importance of baptism)
Defense of Book of Mormon:
2 Nephi 29:3 Bible anachronism
2 Nephi 33:4 BoM Christ focused
Enos 1:21 horses
Omni 1:15 DNA
Mosiah 2:3 offering sacrifices
Mosiah 3:2 the name of Jesus Christ
Mosiah 9:9 wheat and barley
Mosiah 16:7 quoting Paul (who quoted Hosea)
Mosiah 16:8 pretty much same as above with additions
Alma 2:12 bows
Alma 2:15 Sidon without Tyre (“Sidon – historical” note)
Alma 4:6 silks
Alma 4:6 silks and linens
Kind of:
2 Nephi 24:19 remnant – raiment
Mosiah 2:9 how did joseph smith connect that “this day” was linked to temple worship in Hebrew?
Mosiah 2:28 choirs and kingly coronation
Mosiah 2:28 king farewell (note on about to go down to my grave)
Mosiah 2:30 Similarities between Mosiah coronation and Old Testament coronations
Mosiah 8:15 defense of seer stones, used in ancient Egypt
Mosiah 19:24 peace ceremony
Mosiah 27:29
Mosiah 27:34 how did Joseph smith know Himli could be a Hebrew name?
Mosiah 28:9 keeping track of plot
Alma 3:15 “and again” meant to be read aloud, without punctuation in the ancient writing
Alma 3:14 this is kind of complex but I think it adds to the complexity of the lost 116 pages, how could JS plan this?
These are my own additions of books, talks, podcasts, scriptures, etc. that I’ve found provide particularly strong proofs of the restoration:
Joseph Smith:
D&C 135:4 note from Jeffrey R Holland about Joseph Smith and Hyrum BoM testimony unto death.
Hebrews 9:16
D&C 42:64
Old Testament:
Isaiah 2:3 why are Zion and Jerusalem different places? We know.
Isaiah 2:16 how did Joseph Smith know about the Greek and Hebrew? (Subscript a)
Isaiah 54:16 explanation? This coincidence combined with a 14 year old who likely never read this verse claiming to see God, then writing an extraordinary book, then spawning a worldwide religion. Coincidence? “Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.”
Malachi 2:4 where do other churches believe the covenant of God is today?
Malachi 3:1 what temple do other churches think Christ will come back to?
Malachi 3:7 What ordinances do other churches believe they need to return to?
Books:
A Marvelous Work and a Wonder
Just to Illustrate
A Case for the Book of Mormon
Those Gold Plates – From Those Gold Plates (book by Peterson – the Book of Mormon claimed to be in reformed Egyptian. Many names of people and places in the BoM have roots in Egyptian. How did Joseph Smith do that? Ancient Writing on gold plates has since been found across the globe. Even the cement box Joseph Smith described the plates residing in has been found as an ancient way to store precious items, like records. Page 72- the 29th chapter of Isaiah says the book would come forth before the flourishing of Lebanon, which started to happen in the mid 19th century.
Temple Worship by Andrew C Skinner (item 59 of list above)
1000 Evidences for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Haven’t read yet)
Podcasts:
LDS Perspectives (especially Episode 6 on DNA)
Church History Matters
Talks:
What is the blueprint of Christ’s church? By Tad R Callister
According to David Bokovoy, when the Book of Mormon appeared in 1830, the Western world had only a limited knowledge of the literary techniques utilized by Semitic authors. One such discovery came to light in 1955 when a scholar named Seidel published a study on parallel statements in Psalms and Isaiah. His work prepared the way for further analysis of what has come to be called “inverted quotations” in the Bible, and today scholars refer to such inverted quotations of earlier sources as an example of Seidel’s law. The Bible contains many examples of inverted quotations. Since Bible scholars in Joseph Smith’s day had not yet recognized the existence of Seidel’s law, its attestation in 2 Nephi 2:15 and elsewhere in the Book of Mormon (e.g., Alma 5:19; compare Psalm 24:4) provides additional evidence that the Book of Mormon is an authentic record of ancient origin.
How did Joseph Smith know about inverted quotations?
Royal Skousen reports that the original text of the Book of Mormon contains expressions which seem inappropriate or improper in some of their uses. For example, in the original text a good many occurrences of the phrase “and it came to pass” are found in inappropriate contexts. In his editing for the 1837 edition, Joseph Smith removed at least 47 of these apparently extraneous uses of this well-worked phrase. In most cases, there were two or more examples of “it came to pass” in close proximity; in some cases, nothing new had “come to pass.” Now the King James phrase “and it came to pass” corresponds to a Hebrew word meaning “and it happened.” When translating the Hebrew Bible, the King James translators avoided translating this Hebrew word whenever it wouldn’t make sense.
English, especially when too many events were “coming to pass” or when nothing had really “come to pass”–in other words, in those very places that the original text of the Book of Mormon “inappropriately” allows “and it came to pass” to occur. Consider the following example (where the deleted phrase “it came to pass that” is in brackets) with a corresponding example from Genesis, given in the original before the King James translators took it out:
2 Nephi 4:10–and it came to pass that when my father had made an end of speaking unto them behold [it came to pass that] he spake unto the sons of Ishmael yea and even all his household (1837).
Genesis 27:30–and it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob and [it came to pass that] Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
Other Book of Mormon examples of multiple occurrences of “it came to pass” which were edited by Joseph Smith in 1837 are found in Alma 8:18-19 and Alma 14:4-5.
What is important here is to realize that the original text of the Book of Mormon apparently contains expressions that are not characteristic of English at any place or time, in particular neither Joseph Smith’s upstate New York dialect nor the King James Bible. Subsequent editing of the text into standard English has systematically removed these non-English expressions from the text–the very expressions that provide the strongest support for the hypothesis that the Book of Mormon is a literal translation of a non-English text.
How did Joseph Smith know to have multiple “and it came to pass”es in the Book of Mormon when the same pattern had been removed from any Bible? Then, if he originally had these “it came to pass”es, why did he remove them if he did understand their significance?
Having learned of the special meaning associated with the Prophet’s name, I was especially interested when I discovered the following in the patriarchal blessing of the Prophet’s older brother Hyrum. “Behold thou art Hyrum, the Lord hath called thee by that name, and by that name He has blessed thee.” It then dawned on me that Hyrum is also a Hebrew name which means “my brother is exalted.” What more appropriate name could have been given to the man who was destined to go with Joseph to Carthage and seal his testimony with his blood? So the testimony of the Restoration has been sealed on this dispensation with the blood of two prophets who, according to the ancient tradition, bore the right names.
Me – interesting coincidence.
I intentionally didn’t pick the best ones from my list. I took a random sample of three. You’ll have to dig into the list yourself to find the best ones and shore up your own testimony of the Book of Mormon. True faith and real testimony takes effort.
Any one of these may not be enough to say the Book of Mormon is true. But when taken together, all these coincidences, hundreds of evidences, it is true.
I didn’t compile this list in a couple weeks. This has been 8 years of study, a little bit every day, to compile this list. I’m not close to finished. My point is that you can find your own proof. It’s there. Just look for it.
I’ve been thinking recently. Why I care about this?
This being – the Gospel, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ in general.
Let’s start with Jesus Christ in general. I feel like I write about this constantly and it’s the constant conclusion to one of my posts, so I’ll be brief here. I care about Jesus Christ in general because He has given me everything. The least I can do in return is share Him, follow Him, try my best to be like Him.
Let’s go broader. Why do I care about the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ? That, I think goes in line with why I care about Jesus Christ Himself. If I care about Him, then I would care about His church, and I’d want to share His gospel. That lines up.
You’ll notice I distinguished the Church of Jesus Christ with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is what I want to focus on and think about here.
Why do I care to share that I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Why do I invite people to church? Why do I invite people to activities? Why do I share Book of Mormons? Why do I invite people to meet with the missionaries? Why do I share being a latter-day saint? Why do I talk about it? Why does it matter? Why do I care? Why do I keep doing it with such little success?
It’s something I think about relatively often. The why?
How do I stay motivated to write spiritually themed blog posts every week not very many read and fewer still are interested in?
Why do I keep having gospel discussions with people and trying to convince them that this is the restored Church of Jesus Christ – when everyone I talk to disagrees, or worse, doesn’t care?
Why do I keep inviting people to church and activities when they never come?
Why do I keep sharing scriptures and conference talks that no one reads or listens to?
Why is being a “Mormon” important?
Hmm.
Sounds depressing right? Sometimes it’s hard. Being a member missionary is hard. It’s discouraging. It seems like an endlessly fruitless effort.
And yet I’m not being persecuted or crucified so I have really nothing to complain about compared to saints from earlier times.
So, I’ve distinguished “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” from “The Church of Jesus Christ” but that’s really the answer to the question of why. I do all these things, no matter how hard or discouraging, because I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Church of Jesus Christ. I believe they are one and the same. I believe this is Christ’s restored church. I believe it is the way back to Him. I believe I was called and sent here to share it. That’s why I do it. That’s why I care.
I have a friend who converted to this church who once said something I found fascinating. He said, basically, “Whether it’s true or not, I don’t care. This church brings me happiness. It’s made my life better. It’s made me a better person. It’s made me feel closer to God. Is it true? Is it the One True Church? I don’t know. Really, I don’t care.”
He doesn’t care because for him it’s about his well-being. This church has helped his life and brought him joy. What does he care about the rest of it? While I think in a completely different way, I can appreciate this line of logic, this way of thinking. This person is an extreme pragmatist. So when he said this statement, it told me a lot about him.
Does what this individual said make him any less of a latter-day saint and disciple of Christ than me? I’ll say, I think it could, but it doesn’t. This person is still one of the most faithful, serving, selfless, Christ-like individuals I know. Ultimately his why doesn’t matter as much as who he is becoming, which is more like Jesus Christ.
I consider that person’s why somewhat temporal. ‘This church has been good to me and brought me joy, I’m for it.’
My why is different.
My question is, what if the church doesn’t bring you joy? What if it makes your life worse? This friend of mine might leave if that were the case. Right now he has no reason to leave.
Maybe this is why so many leave. They don’t see how the church is benefitting them.
This friend and I have a mutual friend. The mutual friend is very interested in religion and so we’ve had religious conversations together. After a few discussions, my friend said the mutual friend would never join the church. He said the mutual friend had too much to lose. His family would disown him, his wife would hate him, his whole life would change. It would be too hard. Should that person join the church?
My friend would say no.
Again, my why is different.
I look at that and say, “Is it true?”
Response from hypothetical person, “Well…”
“No well, is it true?”
If it’s true, if God sent a prophet, and that prophet established a church, and it’s Christ’s church – if it’s true – what else matters?
Is it true?
I believe it is.
That’s why it matters. That’s why I care. That’s why it’s so important to me.
I’ll write more on the temporal vs spiritual benefits of the church another time. But for now, I wanted to share that.
Is it true?
Yes.
Then it matters. It matters more than anything else on this entire earth.
I read a book titled An Epistle from the New Testament Apostles.
A sentence in the second paragraph of the preface caught my attention and helped me to read this book in a different light. That sentence read:
“Imagine for a moment how you might feel if you were to go to your mailbox only to find there a long letter addressed personally to you from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as those church leaders were constituted shortly after the resurrection of Christ.”
Huh. Do we read the Bible in this way? Do we read the Bible as if Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus, or John the Beloved were writing to us? How much more power comes from the words as we consider them a personal letter directly sent to us? What is the Bible really, but a letter sent directly to us from these prophets? You could also consider the Bible a letter sent to you from God.
I’d like to share a part of this book that was especially significant to me. As I said, the book takes all the epistles of the prophets in the New Testament and categorizes them. It’s also worth noting that where there are multiple translations or interpretations of what may have been originally written, this book showed some of those different options. Keep that in mind when reading the quotes below. One category that stood out to me was titled:
Unity in the Church
From James 3:14-16 “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not/do not assume superiority over/ and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
Sounds like Christianity today.
Another section.
A Call to Unity in the Body of Christ
From Ephesians 4:1-6 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is {In} one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Ephesians 4:11-15: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we in the unity of the faith, all come and of {to} the knowledge of the Son of God, (MISSING ERASED CONTENT FROM KJV). That we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”
Unity.
I point out the lack of it in Christianity not to try to “dispute” or to create “contention” but to point out the obvious.
It’s interesting the first things Jesus Christ did when he appeared to His other flock in the Americas.
He proclaims His Atonement, announcing that He accomplished what the prophets said would be fulfilled, announcing that He can save His people.
He ministers to His people one by one. They are each individually allowed to come up and feel the wounds in His hands, feet, and sides.
After the people cry out “Hosana!” literally, “God save us” or “Save now, we pray,” Jesus Christ sets forth the mode of baptism, the way He can save them.
From here Christ’s complete focus is on unity. He elaborates on the oneness of Himself, God the Father, and the Holy Ghost.
Then He says (3 Nephi 11:28-30), “And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirrith up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”
May we all avoid disputations and contention. May we always serve with meekness, longsuffering, and love. I hope that one day Christianity can be unified in our faith in Jesus Christ. That will likely not come until the millennium, when we can all look to who we serve, and know without a doubt that we know Him. But we can do our part today to not let the devil have power over us. We can do our part by removing contention and argument from our lives.
No Coincidences 